making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." >> live and in hd, this is "good morning, washington" -- on your side. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> wow. missouri -- parts of the midwest, some areas receiving as much as 17 inches of snow. that storm system is headed our way. good morning washington. it is friday, february 22. >> i am natasha barrett in course and a. what can we expect from the storm system? we begin with jacqui jeras. >> good morning. a winter weather advisory has been posted along the blue ridge and areas off to the west including rappahannock and

madison county is, as well as hampshire, locking ham, and page county. that is where we are expecting the wintery mix to the onset of this morning. accumulation could be reaching a around 0.5 inches or 1 inch. most of this should hold off until the noon hour. i do expect some sleet and snow here. a little accumulation. our temperatures should stay above the freezing mark. right now, we are at freezing, 29 at dulles. 27 degrees in winchester. our express forecast -- cloudy skies, 33 degrees, cloudy and a light mix and 35 by noon, and 5:00 our temperature around 36 degrees. it will be a wet start to the weekend. let's see how the roads are with cheney. >> -- with jamie. >> as we hit the roads on the

395, we did have some overnight construction in the northbound direction. northbound between duke street and seminary road -- i do not see any current remaining. your good to go. same-store with 95 out of stafford, quiet. i am checking the construction and maryland's 95. they had cones on i-95 south near the beltway and northbound on 295. really, that is about it at this early hour. natasha, good morning. >> crews in the midwest will take another day clearing the airports and roads from under all the snowfall. >> some parts of kansas some more than 1 foot and a half of snow. to vaughn bradley has more. >> much of the nation's heartland is buried in snow. overnight, a blizzard marched towards chicago. the great lakes was bracing for

nearly a foot of snow. the monster snow has sacked the heartland. there was pouring snow in some of pouring rain in a thunder snowstorm. from kansas to missouri highways were shut down. >> it got out of control. i lost control due to the weather. it is scary. >> crews are working to shovel out abandoned vehicles. postal trucks had a hard time too. >> we got stuck six times before it got here. >> the heavy snow made visibility difficult at a number of airports, including this one in omaha nebraska, where workers waste to clear runways. snow fell up to 3 inches per hour in some places. watch how quickly still adds up in arkansas.

some welcome the damp conditions. >> this will get our crops going. >> the storm is expected to weaken today, but forecasters say it will develop off the east coast. tavon bradley. >> later today officials with the national weather service will head to texas to survey damage from a deadly storm. at this point, it is unclear whether a tornado hit on thursday afternoon. a 74-year-old woman was killed. the storm damaged more than two dozen other homes. >> the former head of d.c.'s homeland security office is expected to plead guilty to tax fraud. prosecutors say millicent west filed grande documents with the irs. this happened when she ran the d.c. trust corporation. she resigned last year.

>> a south african judge is expected to decide today whether oscar pistorius should be released on bail as he awaits trial on charges that he killed his girlfriend. he is accused of killing her on valentine's day. he claims he mistook her as an intruder when he shot her through the bathroom door of his home. the decision comes as the lead detective was removed after it was revealed that he faces attempted murder charges in a separate case. >> around prince for discounted a shelter and emergency preparedness drill will take place. this takes place at the county courthouse. the drill will be held in the duval and marbury wings only. the drill will impact on the courthouse personnel and it will take place until 3:00 p.m. today. another drill will also take place today, this one at the

naval observatory in northwest d.c. it is called exercise citadel shield. this will take place from 10 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. thursday night, council members chose lauren newman to succeed john leopold. he was convicted of misconduct. neuman was one of 16 candidates. neuman will serve out the remainder of leopold's term. >> this morning, we have a sausage recall to tell you about. >> japan has its own idea about why the dream wiener is having a problem. -- the dreamliner is having a problem. >> happy friday to you. you mentioned h p -- that stock is on the radar. their forecast exceeded

analysts' estimates. that is a result of cost- cutting, which included job cuts. the ceo says the cut more than 50,000 jobs in their reconstruction. the japanese tsa has its own theory about the dreamliner. it says that an overflow of fuels happened to and a japan airlines plane while it was waiting for takeoff in boston last month. if you are going to add sausage for breakfast, i should tell you there is a recall alert to tell you about. smithfield is recalling its mild sausage, because some packages may contain a some glove particles. this was distributed in retail outlets in washington d.c. and maryland. the company says you can return the product where you bought it for a full refund.

the automatic spending cuts on the way may mean there is less on the table to feed your kids if you are low income family. live at bloomberg headquarters in new york, i'm linda bell reporting for abc 7 news. >> the time, 4:38. it is about 30 degrees. >> still to come, a local teacher goes from the classroom to a jail cell. here are the

>> welcome back. a 4:40 on your friday morning. a live look at the white house still dark. you can see the flag on the roof. it is waving a little bit. >> i see one light on. do you see that upper window? somebody is awake. good morning. is it you, president obama? >> what do you make of the wind? >> today, not a strong as it has been. we have a bit of a wind chill factor. today, our concern is the wintry weather moving in. we are already seeing that in parts of western virginia and sneaking its way into garrett county. you can see pink and white. this is a snow mixed. i do think for the most part this is going to hold off of the metro area until middle of today, with a little bit of accumulation. along the blue ridge you can see something happening up to an

inch of sleet and snow accumulation. 32 degrees in d.c. our headlines today the wintery mix expected through midafternoon. i do think will change over to rain light from tonight. the rangel b. haggar tomorrow, east of 95 but if -- the rain will be heavier tomorrow, east of 95. it should be in a pleasant and to the weekend. first, time for traffic. >> good morning. as we get started off take a look at 66. inside the beltway through falls church all travel lanes are open. we're seeing a few clouds -- a few cars. as the overnight construction is watched closely, if your headed out of the door, south i-95 in maryland close to the beltway

northbound bw parkway, as you head towards route 100 -- crossing the woodrow wilson bridge, we love to see this. a good time to get going. back to you. >> 4:43. 30 degrees. >> coming up, prepare for delays if your tak

>> a bond hearing is set for today for an oil -- an elementary school teacher charged with sexually abusing two students. timothy krupica has taught sixth grade students since 2009. he was arrested after two 11- year-old female students came forward. they say he inappropriately touched them, beginning in september. he said they tried -- he tried to force them to touch him. >> he plays with the kids. he is nice and easy going. he is a typical guy. >> i have known him for a long time. i know what kind of teacher he is. everybody jumping to conclusions. >> the woman we heard from said she plans to be there at the bond hearing today to show his support. krupica has been placed on administrative leave it -- leave. >> a group of prominent black leaders will hold a deep -- a news conference in d.c., all to

talk about gun control. and maryland task force studying access to weapons by people who are mentally ill will hold a meeting. that takes place in annapolis. this comes after a maryland senate committee approved an amendment to a bill that would ban somebody from owning a gun if somebody has been committed for mental health reasons. >> the latest on the story we brought you thursday. investigators believe an electrical failure may have caused the house buyer in glendora that killed a father and two of his stars -- two of his daughters. for the father, a eight-year- old, and the twin, they did not survive. the house did not have a working smoke detector. >> cardinal donald world will pay tribute to pope benedict. before he leaves to the vatican to help choose the pontiff's

successor. the cardinal also celebrate mass at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception. that takes place on sunday. the dalai lama will deliver a lecture at the contest center at the university of maryland on may 7. tickets are required. information will be released sometime next month. you may want to give yourself some extra time ago you plan on using metro to get around this weekend. >> orange line will not run between vienna and ballston. shuttle buses will be available. red line trains will be single tract between takoma and rhode island ave. there is no work scheduled for the blue line, yellow line or green line. everything else you need to know is on our web site. 202 -- go to wjla.com.

>> a big celebration is planned for george washington's birthday today. his home will be the site of today's naturalization ceremony pour 50 americans. >> 4:49. i guess it is time to ask jacqui whether it will be worthy of being outside for events today. >> it depends on where you are from. i think for the most part it will be fine. it will be cold. most of the moisture, especially for the metro area, will be holding off until the noon hour. the moisture is starting to move in a cross west virginia and should be pushing into the blue ridge later this morning. winter weather advisory is in affect, new hampshire rappahannock, madison county's. we have a potential of an inch of sleet and snow accumulated. i think it will start off as

snow and then transition over to sleet and even some freezing rain. our temperatures are round or just under the freezing mark. 32 in the sea. 29 at dulles. 27 in winchester. we are already clouded in across the area. here is that moisture trying to sneak its way through. some of that tank might mean sleet mixing in with snow. here is why this is a tricky forecast -- our energy on the systems will be fleeting. is part of that big storm, you saw the video from kansas. down here, we will be seeing an area of low pressure developing. it kind of puts the energy right on top. most of it will be like. then we will get heavier rains especially along the east of i- 95 tomorrow, and then drying up tomorrow night. our forecast for today, we're looking for cloudy skies, 33

degrees, but by recess, we could see a light wintery mix, 35 degrees, drop-off time about 38 degrees. i think the transition will happen in mid to late this afternoon in d.c.. right now, you need an update on traffic. >> and naille traffic report. it is quiet from the traffic center. good morning, washington. heading across the 14th street bridge, in each direction, this looks fabulous. no problems. i-395, 95 in stamford, travel lanes are open. 270, between frederick and the beltway, this is how all the cameras luck. -- all the cameras look. and i start in rockville. as you head out of colombia records four corners, this looks good to. -- good too >> 4:51.

30 degrees. >> cynne simpson and arch campbell are in california to cover hollywood's biggest night. we're talking about the oscars. arch will tell us who he thinks will be the night's big winner. >> today, it is happy hour with joan rivers and her daughter melissa. the talk about what it is like to work and live together. they will

>> in entertainment news, fans of michael jackson may want to make plans to get to vegas. >> a new show -- it is opening this summer. it is called "michael jackson grumman one a." -- "michael jackson i." the show is the second collaboration between this company and jackson's estate. the first production was the traveling show. >> cynne simpson and arch campbell are in california to cover the academy awards. >> did you see him in his tuxedo? before he left, he gave us his tips for who he thinks will be the big winners. >> this is oscar buzz.

many oscar contest feel like a good election, too close to call. >> all men are created equal. >> jones was the early favorite to win best supporting actor. his competition includes robert deniro, the obsessive compulsive father. >> when light reaches out like a moment, it is the senate to not treat -- cannot reach back. >> i think his rousing finale speech will win and best supporting actor. >> having sex with everybody in the office. >> any women? >> yes. >> how about the best actors contest? jennifer lawrence holds her own. even though jessica testing one -- won graves -- rave reactions.

>> daniel day-lewis for "lincoln." best director " steven spielgberg" for -- for steven spielberg for "lincoln." >> we invite you to watch our special abc 7 coverage of the academy awards live from hollywood, cynne simpson and arch campbell there. that will start tonight at 5:00. >> doesn't he look spiffy? >> 4:57. >> still ahead call it a sweet move